Sally Lee, editor of Parents magazine, says there is no excuse for driving with a baby in your lap, because if there’s an accident, the child “becomes a projectile or is crushed between the mother and the steering wheel,” she says.

“It’s such dangerous behavior, and it goes against everything you’ve ever been told about auto safety and babies. There are never mitigating circumstances. The baby should be in a car seat, period.”

Palin held her baby in her arms as the warden drove a short distance around the facility, said corrections director Joe Schmidt, who sat next to Palin.

A few days later, the governor got a warning from her public safety commissioner that someone had complained that she did not strap Trig into a car seat for the ride.

Palin dismissed the complaint as petty, and the commissioner, whom she appointed, took no formal action.

Just ask Britney Spears how illegal it is. Governor Palin, I have been telling anyone who will listen to stay out of your personal life. But endangering your infant child is potentially a criminal offense and a very public matter.